While delicious anytime, whisky is always better when celebrating with friends. Next spring, “friends” from all over the world will gather together in Speyside, many of whom are meeting each other for the first time. No, they’re not pen palsthey’re whisky-lovers coming together for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, April 28 May 2 2011.The Festival is now in its 11^th year, and the 6^th year since an official company was introduced specifically to manage and plan the event. While the Whisky Trail is a gorgeous and educational tourist spot any time of the year, you might want to consider holding off until the Festival. In addition to the regularly-open distilleries, several that are closed to visitors during the year open their doors for these five days. Regular events like tastings and classes are also enhanced with special dining events. If you’re lucky, you may even experience a traditional Scottish ceilidh: a social gathering where people of all ages dance the night away. Read more »

Johnnie Walker is almost synonymous with Scotch for many people, and there’s a good reason for that. Today the brand sells over 130 million bottles a year, coming a long way from the brand’s humble beginnings in an Ayrshire grocery shop in 1820. The original John Walker’s sons started the rise to an international brand in the 1860s, when the ban against selling blended whiskies was overturned. Read more »

Throughout the years, scotch has been immortalized in song. Happy and sad, fast and slow, these songs make the perfect iPod playlist to your Whisky Trail excursion.

• Ron Burgundy “I Love Scotch”: Featured in the film Anchorman, Ron Burgundy’s 9-second ode to the glories of scotch going “down, down into my belly” is short but sweet. Put it on repeat a few times for maximum effect.
• Frank Sinatra “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”: “We’re drinking, my friend,/to the end, of a brief episode,” Sinatra mourns near the beginning of this classic pop standard. If Sinatra’s not your thing, it’s been covered by everyone from Billie Holiday to Iggy Pop. Read more »